Hi Seagull201,
Prior to leaving OZ, I was a very experienced Flight Instructor. I had no turbo prop or turbine time. There are quite a few Aussies in US. The exact number I would not know. During ground school, I met 6 Aussies. FAA ATPL is very easy, nothing like Oz. I passed that with no issues. My suggestion is to get Sheppard Air prior of leaving Oz and go through the questions before you leave. However, that said if you are short on time, go through Sheppard Air while doing the CTP course and follow the instructions EXACTLY of Sheppard Air. Trust me it works. With US regionals, some do it as first part of the ground school course and some do it at a later stage.
Usually people fail in Sim however, I failed ground school exam. Aircraft systems were barely covered in class. We were given 4 days to do 43 chapters, about 7 of them were CRM, rest of the chapters were systems of the aircraft type. Everyone has different learning styles. I was falling behind, so much to cover in so little time. I found it to be full on. I have been given another opportunity with another US Regional and they asked me why I failed training with previous US Regional Airline? I said the truth and were more than happy to give me a go. I asked about their training program and appears to be more suitable for my learning style. This new airline have emailed me systems, aircraft limitations and profiles already so I have a head start. Apparently this particular US regional email these things to all successful applicants.
On another note, regarding US banking when I reported that I lost employment and thinking of heading home back to OZ, they were very happy to leave my account open and not to charge me any fees for 3 months.
There are plenty of US regional jobs at the moment, The day I got dismissed I applied for only 1 Regional job, got a reply in less than 3 hours was interviewed and offered an opportunity 5 days later. My hold up is the new E3 visa.
Hope this info helps.
Safe Landings